List of black starting NFL quarterbacks

Further information: Black players in professional American football and Race and sports

Pollard in football uniform staring off in the distance and striking a classic football pose; one arm is outstretched, while the other holds a football, as if he were about to throw it.
Fritz Pollard became the NFL's first black quarterback in 1923

This list of black starting NFL quarterbacks includes those who have started in a regular-season or post-season game in the National Football League (NFL). The quarterback is the leader of a team's offense, directing other players on the field.[1][2] Some authors have contended that black players have been excluded from playing quarterback in the NFL because of the belief that white players would not follow their leadership and the perception that black quarterbacks lack intelligence, dependability, composure, character, or charisma.[3][4] Promising black quarterbacks at the high school and college levels were often transitioned at the professional level to other positions, such as running back or wide receiver.[5][6][7] While a ban on black players in the NFL ended in 1946,[1] the quarterback position was among the last to be desegregated.[2]

Although black quarterbacks and other quarterbacks of color vary in physical size and playing style,[8] racial stereotyping persists.[9][10] A 2015 study found that even when controlling for various factors, black quarterbacks are twice as likely to be "benched", or removed from play, as white quarterbacks.[11] Other studies have found that sports broadcasters are more likely to attribute a black quarterback's success to superior athletic attributes and a white quarterback's success to superior intellect.[12][13] It was not until 2017, when the New York Giants started Geno Smith in place of the benched Eli Manning,[14] that all 32 active NFL teams had started at least one black quarterback.[15] That year, nearly 70% of NFL players, but only 25% of starting quarterbacks, were black.[6] 15 of the league's 32 starting quarterbacks were black at the start of the 2024 NFL season, the most in a single week in NFL history.[16]

  1. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference Howard was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference Freedman was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ Cite error: The named reference Johnson18 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ Cite error: The named reference Ramsey was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  5. ^ "28 QBs who converted to WR: Not Lamar Jackson comps - Banner Society". 27 April 2017.
  6. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference Kimes was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  7. ^ Cite error: The named reference Brill was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  8. ^ Cite error: The named reference Rhoden was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  9. ^ Cite error: The named reference Ferrucci was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  10. ^ Cite error: The named reference Bigler was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  11. ^ Cite error: The named reference Volz was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  12. ^ Cite error: The named reference Billings was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  13. ^ Cite error: The named reference Mercurio was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  14. ^ "CONCLUSION", Color - Communication in Architectural Space, DE GRUYTER, p. 147, 2007-12-31, doi:10.1007/978-3-7643-8286-5_13, ISBN 978-3-7643-7596-6, retrieved 2023-02-03
  15. ^ Cite error: The named reference Gartland was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  16. ^ "NFL-record 15 Black QBs to start in 2024 Week 1 after Patriots name Jacoby Brissett starter for opener". CBS Sports. 29 August 2024.